The chocolate, walnut and Amaretto cake ist from the River Cafe Cookbook Green.
Here’s the recipe:
200 g walnuts, finely chopped, shelled weight
380 g blanched whole almonds, finely ground
380 g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for the tin
100 g plain flour
380 g caster sugar
3 vanilla pods, very finely chopped
5 large, organic free range eggs
1/2 ts baking powder
125 ml Amaretto
Icing
200 g bitter-sweet chocolate with a minimum of 70% cacoa solids
50 g unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 160° C/325 Fahrenheit. Butter and line a 25cm tin with baking paper.
Beat butter and sugar together until pale and light. Stir in the ground almonds and vanilla pods. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the walnuts, flour and baking powder and finally the Amaretto. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/4 hours or until set. Allow to cool on a rack.
Icing: Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over simmering water until liquid. Use a hot wet knife to spread over the cake.
Serve with softly whipped cream or a generous dollop of creme fraiche.
Chocolate, Almond Cake from River Cafe Two Easy
This recipe is really forgiving. Don't fret if not all the chocolate/butter is melted or if it's not cold or whatnot. It will come together just fine.
- 180g (6.3 ounces) 70% Chocolate
- 180g (13 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 200g (2 cups or 7 ounces) almond meal or blanched almonds, finely ground in a food processor
- 2 whole eggs, at room temperature
- 6 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 4 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 vanilla pod, split
- 200g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 15g (1 tablespoon) caster sugar
- 60g (11 tablespoons) dutch-processed (alkalized) cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F or gas mark 2). Spray, line the bottom with parchment, and spray again a 23cm (9-inch) springform pan (they use a plain pan, but I like the extra insurance). Break the chocolate into pieces and cut the butter into cubes. Put both of these into a heatproof bowl and set it over a pot of simmering water (don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). Stir until nearly completely melted, then take off the hot water, stir until completely melted, and leave to cool.
In a large bowl, beat together the 2 eggs, 6 egg yolks, and the 200g sugar until combined. Add the ground almonds and cocoa and stir until combined. Scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod, add them to this mixture and stir together. Finally, add the melted chocolate mixture and stir until combined.
In another large bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the salt and beat until soft peaks are formed. Add the 15g sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Fold it in gently into the chocolate mixture (this won't be easy as the latter is so heavy, but don't worry, it won't affect the final product). Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Let cool completely then chill overnight covered with cling film. Undo the clip on the springform and just before serving, dust with extra cocoa powder.
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